Military service helped define Hawaii’s Tulsi Gabbard

“All of these experiences were challenging in a variety of ways and changed my life, changed my outlook, my perspective, changed me as a person, really developed me into a stronger leader,” she said. “And what I have found to be really beneficial is that my service in the military has been a complement to my public service, and my public service has been a complement to my military service.”

It’s that perspective that she plans to take to Washington, where she will join a growing number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. “It’s a great and awesome responsibility and one that I’m excited to be a part of,” she said.

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“I’m proud of the fact that I’m here along with Tammy Duckworth and the platform that we have been given to bring voice to an entire constituency of service members, veterans, military families and the challenges and opportunities that exist that have not had a true voice before and the firsthand perspective that we bring to the table,” she said.

A rising star in the Democratic Party, Gabbard was invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. “It was a huge honor,” she said. “These opportunities are completely unexpected from my standpoint.”

There’s some scuttlebutt that she’s being groomed for the Senate, but like any good politician, Gabbard said her “sole focus right now is to provide the highest level of service to my constituents. Period.”

In addition to military and defense issues, she’s also interested in energy and small business. And she’s well aware she’s joining Congress when Democrats and Republicans are more divided than ever.

Members of Congress, she said, must acknowledge “the mandate by the people, which is shown in the low approval ratings that Congress has had and that is, ‘We don’t care so much about the labels that have been used to divide the Congress and to divide the country.’ We need to set all that stuff aside and focus on working together, really. And when you look at great leaders from the past and you look at the dynamics of having 435 people here in the people’s House, the only way to make progress and get things done is if you can work together so that’s what needs to be done first.

“We will not only facilitate it,” she said. “Having such a large group of new members coming in will provide a mandate for that happening.”